The present invention relates to a lock assembly adapted for a particular use, that being the ability to occlude or block access to an opening in the static wall structure.
There are several applications wherein openings are inserted or provided in static wall structures in order to permit access to be had to a mechanism or other structure on the rear wall side of a static wall structure. For example, various mechanical and/or electronic components may have an opening formed in a wall member of a housing, the opening intended to give access to service personnel by means of the insertion of a screw driver or other appropriate tool in order to open the housing. More specifically, and in accordance with the present invention, it is well-known that many of the current vehicles such as trucks and other heavy duty equipment are provided with spare tire assemblies which are mounted under the vehicle adjacent the rear bumper. Such spare tires are usually carried in a mechanism which is designed to lower the spare tire when needed, the tire being lowered by means of applying a tool through an opening in the bumper in order to engage a pulley assembly and permitting the operator to rotate the tool such as a tire jack handle and as one rotates the handle, the pulley assembly is activated to lower the tire. In this particular application, any person, whether authorized or not, has access to the pulley assembly by merely inserting a tool through an opening in the bumper. This has caused a virtual epidemic in the theft of spare tires from truck vehicles especially in view of the fact that such equipment is quite valuable, and expensive to replace. Indeed, it has been estimated that there are several millions of dollars worth of tires stolen from new and used vehicles due to the access which is available to the spare tire assembly through the opening provided in the bumper.
One of the difficulties that has been noted with respect to designing any lock assembly for occluding the opening has been the fact that different manufacturers make different sized holes in the bumper, and it has been difficult to develop a lock assembly which would have a universal fitting regardless of the size of the opening in the bumper. Another difficulty in developing a lock assembly which would have a universal fitting with respect to a bumper is the fact that the openings in some bumpers are located along a curved surface. Hence, the lock not only must be designed to fit any sized opening as indicated, but it should be able to be adaptable to even a curved wall structure. For these reasons, lock assemblies have not been developed for such specific application. As a result, the loss of spare tires due to theft has been on the rise.
While the present specification references a lock assembly for use especially in connection with occluding the access opening for spare tires on motor vehicles, it will be appreciated that the lock assembly of the present invention is actually designed to be useful for occluding any opening in a static wall structure for access to both sides of the wall are available to the user. However, the following specification shall make reference to the specific use in connection with the openings located in bumpers which provide access to the spare tire assembly for ease of description.